First Kiss
by SibylSofiana
Summary: Chap6 up! Wait till Touya gets in the act! Tomoyo Daidouji, recent addition to the intl. fashion world, unexpectedly meets up with an old friend, and finds that a first kiss is unforgettable.
1. An Unexpected Kiss

First Kiss 

By SibylSofiana

Disclaimer:        CCS characters are property of Clamp.  We are merely borrowing them for this fic.

Chapter 1 

An Unexpected Kiss

Another sigh escaped the young woman's lips as she gazed across the room from her strategic position, unnoticed in the dimly lit corner where she sat.  She let her eyes linger longingly at the door about fifty feet away from her.  Much as she would have liked to walk out that door right now, she couldn't.  Anne would have her head.  "You're the star of the show – where do you think you're going?!?'

She did enjoy basking in the adulation of the crowd – she was used to it.  The months of preparation had paid off and the show had been successful.  But tonight, she was just tired and drained.

'Why did I let myself get talked into this?  I should be at home right now, having a nice, hot bath.'  Sigh.

Her escort was somewhere out in the crowd where Anne had dragged him to mingle, so she'd have to wait for a while.  Otherwise he'd be very put out – she smiled at the thought.  He was so very protective!  So she stayed put to wait for him, hoping that the crowd had gotten enough of her that they wouldn't notice the two of them sneaking out of her own after-show party in a few more minutes.

She watched as everyone seemed to be having a great time.  Just beside her, a couple was snogging each other senseless, seemingly oblivious to her presence. It was either that or they simply didn't care.

Tomoyo Daidouji, the recent addition to the international fashion world, the pride of Japan, and currently the toast of New York, blew her bangs away from her forehead as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand and contemplated her existence.

~o~o~o~o~o__

The fashion show had been held earlier that evening and it had been a resounding success.  Even the jaded fashion editors were raving about Tomoyo's designs, and kept gathering around her at the party.  Anne Croft, her public relations manager, steered her around to meet the need-to-know celebrities.

There was this one guy who kept following her around.  He had introduced himself as Thaddeus Whitaker, owner of an exclusive men's boutique on Fifth Avenue.

"...but please, call me Ted.  May I call you Tomoyo?" he said as he kissed her hand lingeringly.   For some reason she didn't like him, and she tried to take her hand away but Ted held on firmly.

Fortunately, her escort intervened.  Giving Thaddeus "Ted" Whitaker a quick glare, he dragged Tomoyo off to dance, where he kept all the other young men at bay while she giggled in relief.

But now her rescuer was off in the clutches of Anne, and Tomoyo was left to hide in the shadows.  Ted Whitaker had been particularly annoying, following her wherever she went.  He was probably hoping to get her alone to himself after the countdown, and she didn't plan on being near him at all.

In her distraction, she didn't see Anne go to the microphone in front.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's begin the countdown to the New Year!"

Clapping and cheers soon filled the room.  Tomoyo was filled with dread.

"Ten...nine...eight...!"

Ted Whitaker was slowly making his way towards her table.  She stood up, pretending not to see him as she made her way through the crowd.

_"...seven...six...five..!."_

Oh, dear.  Where was he?!?

_"...four...three...two..!."_

Ted was closing in, and Tomoyo was desperately searching the room for a sign of her escort.

_"...One_**..._HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"_**

There!  She saw him by the French doors and quickly headed toward him.  In her panic, she grabbed the back of his jacket.  To her dismay, as he turned around she knew she had made a mistake, as the guy slowly leaned forward for a kiss. 

"From the frying pan into the fire..." She knew she heard that American expression before.  This was definitely worse than the frying pan.  

"Happy New Year."  There was a note of mock enthusiasm in the man's voice as he leaned to give her a kiss.  There was no time to squirm away as she felt his lips cover hers gently.

And then she was lost.

~o~o~o~o~

Eriol was leaning against the frame of the French doors leading out towards the balcony of the hotel, hands in his trouser pockets.  He never liked public relations parties – but Nakuru insisted he come along.  Probably in the hopes that he might meet one of her model friends and fall head over heels in love.

He gazed outside, looking at the fireworks in Times Square.  He adjusted his spectacles and tried to look for a star.  Unfortunately everything was obscured.

Ah, there!  One star.  

He suddenly thought of Sakura.  Where was she tonight?

And then everyone was cheering and shouting so much that he couldn't hear his thoughts anymore.  

"Ten...nine...eight..!."

At this time of year, he usually stayed at home ensconced in his chair in front of the fire.  Now he had to spend it in the bustle of New York.  Sigh.  

_"...seven...six...five...!"_

He still had papers to grade.  He had at least a few more days before the holidays ended.

_"...four...three...two..."_

Well, it'd be midnight in a few more seconds, and Nakuru had promised they could leave by then.

_"...One_**..._HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"_**

The room then erupted with shouts and laughter, and Eriol knew that soon everybody would be kissing just about everybody in sight.  He hoped they wouldn't see him by the doors – it was a bit dim.

But someone tugged his suit from behind and he sighed inwardly.  But he put on a game expression and slowly turned around.  He couldn't see the woman's face, but her scent beckoned him – it was nice and feminine.  And familiar.  

He leaned down to give her the obligatory New Year's kiss.

"Happy New Year."

He intended to give a brief and indifferent kiss, but as his lips touched hers, it was like he was drawn into a spell – the room faded away, New Year and New York forgotten.  

Her lips were soft -- and cold and quivering.  Instinctively, his lips moved over hers gently, giving her warmth.  And she responded, seeking his lips, her arms no longer passive against his chest but touching tentatively.

He felt the faint stirrings of desire, and knew he had to stop.  He soon unwillingly ended the kiss before it got out of hand.  

He could feel her eyes on him as he drew her away, holding her shoulders gently.

At that particular moment, the present intruded in their magical spell – the room broke into another round of cheering and all the lights were turned on.

And he was shocked to see he was holding Daidouji Tomoyo.

@@@@@  END OF CHAPTER ONE

Authors' Notes:

Hmmm...liked that one didn't you?

We were just kinda playing with ideas, when the idea for this story came up and wouldn't let go.  So, here we are with a brand new ExT fic for all you fans out there.  Enjoy!

With love,

SibylSofiana


	2. Lost in a Daze

First Kiss 

By SibylSofiana

Chapter 2 

Lost in a Daze

"Daidouji-san?!?"

He sounded very British – and he looked so very handsome that Tomoyo's heart pounded.  Hiiragizawa had kissed her!

Tongue-tied and lost for words, she only looked at him.

He was obviously in the same dilemma, judging by the shocked expression on his face.

She finally found her voice.

"Hello, Hiiragizawa-san." She said in English.  Her voice was husky, and an embarrassed smile was on her face.  

Eriol was absolutely blown away.  

The last time he had seen her was at the "revelation" tea party at his home before he left for London.   Back then he had been too busy in secretly forcing Sakura to transform the Clow Cards to Sakura Cards to pay much attention to her friend.   All he remembered about Tomoyo Daidouji was her videocamera and her absolute loyalty to Sakura.

But now, the Cards out of his mind, he realized that even back then, she had  been quite pretty.  Now she was beautiful.  Her hair fell down on her back in waves, and her skin shone in the bright lights.  She was also very poised and looked every inch the sophisticated socialite.

But even if she looked somewhat different, there was the same sparkle of mischief in her violet eyes, hidden behind a very demure facade that he was sure only he could see through.

"Happy New Year, Daidouji-san!" he replied in Japanese when he found his voice.  "What are you doing here in New York?"  he asked her.

She turned into an even more embarrassed shade of pink.

"Um, this was my fashion show..."

"Nani?!?"  He looked at her incredulously.  "You're the fashion designer?  You own the label?"

"Guilty..." Tomoyo replied sheepishly.

"Sugoi!  Congratulations, Daidouji-san!  I had no idea!"  He gave her a big smile, he was so proud of her.  "Wait, have you seen Nakuru yet?"

"Nakuru-chan?  She's here?"

"She's only one of your models."

"What?!?"

At that particular moment, a very tall and statuesque brunette joined their party, dragging a man from behind.  It was Nakuru.  And Tomoyo was amused to see her own escort being dragged unceremoniously forward.

"Eriol-sama, look who I found!"  Nakuru squealed and presented Touya Kinomoto, who was trying his best to disentangle himself from Nakuru's firm grip. 

"Isn't he gorgeous?!?  And he kissed me!"

Touya growled.  "It was dark, and you're the one who grabbed me, Akizuki!"

"Stop being so formal, Touya-kun!  It's NA-KU-RU," she said, enunciating each syllable clearly.  

"And where's yummy Yukito-san?"  Nakuru glanced around.

"Safe where you can't find him."

"Mu-o, you're so funny, Touya-kun!  Hello, Tomoyo-chan!"  Nakuru finally caught sight of her.  "I wanted to talk to you earlier, but there were tons of people around you.  Imagine that, me modeling your clothes!"

"Gomen ne, Nakuru-chan, I didn't notice you ---"  Tomoyo, embarassed, tried to explain but Nakuru waved her off.

"Iie, iie you were obviously distracted, and besides, I was wearing a blonde wig," she said with a large smile.  "I was so happy to find out it was you having the show!  I really liked the dress I wore, the sheer blue one with the ribbons!" She added excitedly, still holding on to Touya's arm, which had long since become numb.

Tomoyo grinned.  "You can have it, it's yours!"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather have your escort," Nakuru grinned back.

"Over my dead body."  This from Touya, who was still trying to extricate himself from Nakuru's death grip.  Nakuru only laughed and hugged him tighter.

"Ooh, you're still so funny, Touya-kun!  I've really missed you!"

Tomoyo was so busy laughing that she didn't notice a man heading purposefully in their direction.  They were all startled when this man zoomed in on Tomoyo, and she was hauled to the man's side without warning.

"Tomoyo!  Happy New Year!"  

~o~o~o~o~

Touya frowned at Thaddeus Whitaker's audacity.  _Would this guy ever stop?_  

_Correction – would all the guys stop making passes at Tomoyo?_  It was ridiculous.  He had his hands full all night trying to block all the males attempting to proposition her.  But Ted Whitaker was proving persistent.

Even now, Ted made as if to kiss Tomoyo then and there.  But Touya stepped in between,  taking Ted Whitaker's hand and shook it, generally halting his intent.  

Eriol, on the other hand,  had imperceptibly pulled Tomoyo behind him.

"Happy New Year, Mr. Whitaker!"  Touya gave Ted a fake and hearty grin.  "Have you met Ms. Nakuru Akizuki?", he said, dragging Nakuru forward, who simpered and smiled.

"Ah, nice to meet you, Ms. Akizuki."  Ted tried unsuccessfully to look over Touya's shoulder and move past him and Nakuru.  "Tomoyo, I'd like to invite you tomorrow to lunch, I could take you on a tour of New York.  I won't take no for an answer."

"Oh, but Mr. Whitaker –"

"Ted."

"Um, I ---" Tomoyo looked around desperately for an excuse.

"Ah, I've already invited Tomoyo for an early lunch," Eriol intervened smoothly.  "Say I pick you up around ten am at the lobby, Tomoyo?" looking intently at her.

"Yes, Hii—Eriol!  I'm free tomorrow, right Anne?" she quickly replied, glancing at Anne, who finally joined their party after conducting the countdown.

But Anne was a little bit distracted.  She was busy gaping at Eriol, to Nakuru's amusement.  "Ah, what was that?  Oh, tomorrow!"  She turned her gaze from Eriol to Tomoyo.  "Yes, tomorrow morning is free.  You won't have a photo shoot until the next day."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Whitaker," Tomoyo apologized to the obviously annoyed man.  "Maybe next time?"  _Maybe never, _she thought fervently.

Obviously seeing that he didn't stand a chance of getting her alone for the night, Ted finally decided to back down for now.

"I'll hold you to that.  I'll give you a ring, if that's all right..."   Masking his earlier irritation, Ted Whitaker suddenly turned suave and charming as he took his leave.  "Good evening, to you all."  

But Tomoyo wasn't paying attention, nor were the others.  Tomoyo quickly introduced Eriol and Nakuru to Anne, who soon regained her professional equilibrium and shook hands with them.

"So, how about it guys?  Why don't we all have lunch together?"  Tomoyo offered.

"Mu-o, I can't join you, Tomoyo-chan! I promised my friends we'd go out shopping." 

Disappointed, Tomoyo began -- "Oh, it's alright, Nakuru.  Eriol might have some other plans, I..."

Eriol was shaking his head.  "I don't have any plans, and I keep my appointments."

"Oh, but Touya..."

But Touya shook his head.

"I can't join you, either, I have some files I'd like to take a look at in the office tomorrow..."  

At this declaration, Tomoyo protested.  

"Touya, one day off from work won't kill you.  Besides, Mother won't mind if you don't show up on a holiday!"

Touya gave a small smile.  "It's alright, I just need to check up on a few things.  You go out and have some fun."  Without changing expression, he looked at Eriol and his eyes  seemed to convey a message destined only for males to decipher .  "I'm sure I can count on Hiiragizawa-san to make sure you'll be safe."

Eriol only gave him a wide-eyed innocent look.

"Oh, she'll be safe with me, Kinomoto-san."  Before Touya could reply with a good comeback, Eriol turned and politely addressed Anne.  

"Ms. Croft, would you like to join us?" he asked invitingly.  But Anne shook her head.

"No, go ahead.  It seems you have to catch up on old times.  I'll take a break before the schedule becomes hectic again."

"Well, that's settled.  See you tomorrow...oops!"  Eriol glanced at his watch.  "Gomen, it is tomorrow.  See you later in the morning, then!"  He dragged a faintly protesting Nakuru out the door ("can't I even kiss Touya-kun good night?") and said his farewells.

~o~o~o~o~

Anne looked at Eriol's departing back.  She had it bad.  She always had a thing for preppy good-looking guys with glasses.  _Maybe she could ask Tomoyo about him..._

She just wasn't sure if he might be interested in going out with her.  Other than the politely worded invitation, he had been too busy staring at Tomoyo to pay much attention to her.

~o~o~o~o~

Touya looked at the departing duo with a sudden headache.  _Trouble's coming.  I can feel it.  _He sighed.  Even without his powers, he still had the feeling that he was in for another battle.  And he had just given up the Kaijuu!  First the Brat, and now the Weasel-faced half-reincarnation.

_Why me?_

~o~o~o~o~

Tomoyo was still in a daze as Touya escorted her to her hotel room.  So many things had happened tonight – the show, the countdown, the sudden reunion.  But there was only one thing she could think of at this particular moment –

**The once charming, secretive, and mysterious Eriol Hiiragizawa had kissed her!**

* + * + *

_Author's  chitchat__/scribbles:_

Really sorry about the late postings.  Things just get so busy 'round here, so thanks for being patient.

Okie dokie June6, we hope this chapter answered your question as to who Tomoyo's escort is.  As for Sakura, well Kyte-Aura, Eriol just happened to be thinking about her as he was looking at the star, that's all.  No surprise OOC substories (we're not really partial to a Sakura-Eriol pairing ;p)  As to your other questions, they will all be answered in due time.

Thank you for your very nice reviews.  We love reading them and they keep us going.  It would also help us a lot if you point out any inconsistencies we might have missed (if any) or comment on which part you liked best (or not) or ask to clarify something in the chapters.

On with the acknowledgements!  Thank you to the following people for their reviews (in no particular order):  

Darkness in Heart, Mistress Mei, Chibi Yuet, IrisLove, princess cythera, Intuition, dragontamer101, wallpaper, carmela-chan, flitter bug & KyteAura, (well, hello again!), Dana Daidouji (yup, more to come!), June6, not applicable (you're absolutely right.  Gosh, the good ones are few and far between!)

So, tell us what you think!


	3. NY Cabbies and Hotdogs

First Kiss 

By SibylSofiana

Chapter 3 

NY Cabbies and Hotdogs

Tomoyo spotted him at the reception counter in the lobby.

"Hiiragizawa-san!"  For some reason she was breathless and excited.  Tomoyo didn't even get much sleep in anticipation of the day ahead – and she was a sound sleeper!

Eriol turned and gave her a smile that turned her legs to jelly.

"Good morning, Tomoyo!" he said cheerfully.  Even the way he said her name turned her thoughts to mush.  _Aaaargh!  What is wrong with you?  _Tomoyo thought to herself exasperatedly.  _It's only Hiiragizawa.  Why are you becoming so obsessed?_

_Because he gave you your first kiss and...because he's so handsome_, a voice in her head said clearly.  And Hiiragizawa was indeed handsome – he had grown so tall, but his body was well-proportioned.  The eyes behind the glasses were good-natured, his profile perfectly aristocratic, his hair occasionally falling accross his face where he impatiently would brush it aside,  and his lips..._don't think about his lips!_

Eriol thanked the receptionist and came forward to meet her.

"Any plans for the afternoon?" he asked her.

"Um, I haven't thought that far ahead..." Tomoyo began.

Eriol nodded at her outfit approvingly.  She was dressed warmly for the outdoors.

"Good.  I hope you don't mind a change in mine – say we forget about a formal hotel lunch and brave the cool New York air with an authentic New York cabman to tour us around?  You're not hungry yet, are you?"  Before she could answer, he said, "Good ol' American hotdogs, that's the answer!"

And with a whoosh, he escorted her into the cab parked out in the kerb (courtesy of the receptionist) and away they went.  The cabbie, whose name was Ernie, proved garrulous, and he regaled them with stories of all his former passengers.  And Tomoyo found out the hard way that as NY cab drivers went, Ernie was the real thing – at every intersection he yelled at the other drivers, blared his horn, and moved in and out of traffic with a squealing of brakes.

Throughout all this, Tomoyo sat wide-eyed in the backseat, only to clutch at Eriol's leg whenever Ernie the cabbie narrowly missed another car.  After some time, even Eriol finally had to say something.

"Tomoyo, you're cutting off my circulation," he said plaintively.

"Ah, gomen, Hiiragizawa-san!"  And she would let go, but only until the next near-encounter.  Eriol could only sigh, keeping his pain (and pleasure) to himself.

~o~o~o~o

Tomoyo took pictures of the cabbie against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty.

Eriol whispered behind her.  "Ah, so it was in the bag.  I had wondered where the perpetual videocamera had disappeared to..."

"Stop teasing, Hiiragizawa-san.  It's still a hobby of mine."

"Well, since Sakura-chan isn't here, who's your subject nowadays?"

"I like taking shots of Touya sometimes, but he's a little camera-shy."  She suddenly pointed the camera at him.  "Do you mind, Hiiragizawa-san?"

"Not at all.  How is Sakura, by the way?  I really felt bad to miss her wedding."

"Oh, she and Syaoran are currently busy trying to make babies," she giggled.  "He being The Li and all."

"I'm sure he's manfully fulfilling his duties to the Clan," Eriol chuckled.

After grabbing some hotdogs Ernie swore to, they went to visit the Empire State Building, then left some flowers at Ground Zero Memorial.  Later that afternoon, after much cajoling, Tomoyo finally agreed to go ice skating.  It had been a while since she'd had the time to skate, but once she put on the skates she glided on the ice naturally.  And just as naturally, Eriol slid in beside her.

As they skated companionably, Tomoyo finally voiced out her thoughts regarding the night before.

"A-arigatou for last night, Hiiragizawa-san..."

Eriol turned thoughtfully to her.  "Hmmm, I've never been thanked for a kiss before," he dared tease her, and she blushed.

"You know what I mean, Hiiragizawa-san."

He chuckled.  "Oh, I'm all for saving damsels in distress.  And please, call me Eriol.  You've been calling me Hiiragizawa-san all afternoon.  They're not that formal here."

"Alright, Hii—Eriol-san."

"That's better."

After executing a simple twirl, Tomoyo asked something that had been nagging her.

"So what have you been doing lately, Eriol-san?"

"Oh, aside from being half the reincarnation of the most powerful sorcerer of all time?  I teach at the University now."  He laughed at her incredulity.  "What, the sorcerer can't be a professor?"

"Well, I never thought of you being one..."

"Magic doesn't put food on the table, Tomoyo-san."

"As if you need to work," she snorted daintily.

"Like YOU need to slave away as a fashion designer."

"It pays the bills."  She smiled.  "Mother has finally agreed to let me do it on my own without her help.  But I'm sure she still keeps tabs on me."

"So, all this from your own hard work?  I'm truly impressed."

"Thank you."

They talked more about their personal lives as the afternoon progressed, and Tomoyo was as impressed of Eriol's accomplishments as he was with hers.  When they finally got hungry, Eriol proposed another round of hotdogs for dinner, to which Tomoyo laughingly agreed.  Ernie approved heartily.

It was past eight when Ernie deposited them back to the hotel.  They both thanked him profusely, and Eriol gave him a huge tip.  

Tipping his hat in farewell, Ernie drove off, thinking to himself  _They're quite a good-looking couple..._

~o~o~o~o~

To Tomoyo's dismay, they met Ted Whitaker in the lobby.

"Ah, Tomoyo!"   Ted took her hand and kissed it, holding her hand lingeringly as she attempted to reclaim it.   "Just in time, I see.  May I have the honor of inviting you to dinner?"  he said, totally ignoring Eriol's presence.

Tomoyo managed to pull her hand away from Ted's grip.

"Thank you, Mr. Whitaker, but Mr. Hiiragizawa has already treated me to dinner."

"Ah, probably not to the best French restaurant this side of New York," Ted looked askance at their casual attire.

"No, just the best All American hotdogs at the Central Park sidewalk."  Eriol deadpanned.  After a slight nod to Ted, he placed Tomoyo's hand on the crook of his arm and guided her away to the elevators.

Once they were safe inside, Tomoyo let out a giggle.

"That was horrible of you!"  But she soon turned sober.  "He's being so persistent."

"Forget him.  He'll soon take the hint."  The elevator opened to Tomoyo's floor and Eriol escorted her to her suite.  Once they got to the door, Tomoyo turned around to face Eriol.

"Thank you for the lovely day, Eriol.  I really enjoyed myself."  Tomoyo stood against the wall, cheeks ruddy from the cold and her eyes a lively contrast to her dark hair.

Eriol found himself staring, but he roused himself and managed to say lightly, "Considering that you saved me from another shopping expedition with Nakuru, I should be thanking you."

Both were quiet, sensing undercurrents between them that they didn't dare to go deeper into just yet.  Tomoyo finally broke the silence.  

"Um, how long are you staying in New York, Eriol-san?"

"Mmm, just two more days – I have to get back to the University.  How about you?"

"Same as you, my flight back to Japan leaves on Wednesday."  A slight pause, then, "What are you doing till then?"

"I don't really know... Nakuru hasn't mentioned any of her plans yet –"

"—If you're free, you can come to my photo shoot tomorrow," Tomoyo let out in a rush.  "Then we could go out to dinner, my treat!"  

She wanted to see Eriol again tomorrow.

Eriol considered.  He'd have to find an excuse not to go with Nakuru anywhere tomorrow.  He wanted to see Tomoyo again.

He finally said, "Well, if I won't be getting in the way..."

"No, I'm sure it will be alright with Anne,"  she assured him.

"Agreed, then."  Tomoyo gave him the address of the shoot, and he filed it somewhere in his memory.  

Again the dreadful silence.  But this time, Eriol found himself moving closer to Tomoyo, until mere inches separated her face from his.  Her back was pressed against the door, and she licked her lips nervously.  Eriol's eyes were drawn to her mouth, and he was lowering his head oh so slowly...

They heard the sound of the elevator arriving at the floor at the same time.

Tomoyo recovered enough to squeak out, "Mata'ash'ta, Eriol-san!" before rushing into the room and closing the door before he could even speak.

~0~0~0~

The whole day had been a test of Eriol's willpower.    He had been so very aware of Tomoyo – the way her hands grabbed his leg, the way she brushed back her hair, the way she bantered with Ernie after overcoming her anxiety over his driving skills, the way her teeth bit into the hotdog with the mustard dribbling over the side – even the way she laughed was such a turn-on.  He couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd been so aware of somebody.  (There had been Sakura, of course, but then that was different.)

_Ah, what a day!_

Nakuru was draped over the sofa.

"You were so close, Eriol-sama."

"So close to what?"

"That was the closest thing to sucking face with Tomoyo."

Eriol groaned.  "You have an abominable penchant for pre-pubescent terminology.  And you peeked."

"I'm still you're guardian, you know – I can peek if I want to."  Nakuru smiled evilly.

"Be nice to your poor Master, Nakuru."  Eriol sat down beside her, feeling drained yet aroused nonetheless.  _I need a cold shower._

"Then go get one, silly."

Eriol just glared at her as he stood up and headed off to his bedroom.

@@@@@@

Hello again!  Hope you liked this latest chapter.  We'll try to update as soon as we can :)

Authors' Replies to some questions re: Chapter Two:

1.  Where's Mizuki Kaho in all of this?  She _might _figure in a later chapter – we're not sure yet.  _(If Sibyl had her way there's be no mention of her at all!  But we'll see!_)

2.  How Touya gave up his Kaijuu to Wolf Boy?  Not easily!  Syaoran had to prove himself millions of times just to satisfy Sakura's Big Bro.   Well, Touya had to give in – it was true love and all :)  Touya isn't a bad guy, just overprotective.

3.  Why is Sakura not with Tomoyo and Touya?  She's on her honeymoon!

4.  And where is "yummy" Yukito?   Touya hasn't even told us yet!  (_And we're supposed to be writing this story?!? Talk about secretive men._)


	4. Model Behavior

First Kiss 

By SibylSofiana

Chapter 4 

Model Behavior

Just after lunch Eriol made his way to Tomoyo's studio.  Nervous to say in the least, he arrived twenty minutes earlier than expected.  

_Thank goodness I had the foresight to get here early, otherwise I'd have been late and been a nervous wreck._  Eriol thought as he anxiously glanced at the compact mirror overhead.  Again.

_I'm not late,  and I still am a nervous wreck.  What's the matter with you, Hiiragizawa?  You're not acting like you're the reincarnation of the most powerful sorcerer in the universe, _he earnestly said to his reflection.  _Well, half a reincarnation, _he amended.

He'd been in the car for fifteen minutes now, constantly checking and rechecking his appearance in the mirror above him.  Careful to hide his anticipation of seeing Tomoyo again, he deliberately mussed up his hair to give him a slept-in kind of look, only to smoothen it up again, while debating with himself.

"She might think I'm too tired for dinner later... wait... I might look like I prepared too much with this one, but I don't want to look like I _didn't_ make an effort to look good for her at all..."   Eriol caught himself.

"Gah, Hiiragizawa, you're acting like a schoolboy!  It's not like it's your first date!"

Eriol slumped over the steering wheel and sighed.  

"Great, just great.  Now I'm talking to myself.  This is bad."

"I agree."

Eriol nearly hit his head on the ceiling in surprise as he whipped his eyes crazily to the backseat.

"Nakuru!"

A pair of warm, crimson eyes blinked at him.

"It never ceases to amaze me, Master, that even in your deranged idiosyncrasies you still manage to remember your guardian's name.  It's a miracle, truly."  Nakuru solemnly said to the man in front of her, who was still clutching his heart in an effort to calm it down.

"You scared me, Ruby Moon!  You almost gave me a heart attack!  And you peeked again!" 

"You know I'm always around to dish out advice, Eriol-sama.  Besides, at least now you have someone to talk to instead of just yourself."  Nakuru sighed before adding dramatically,  "You know how other people are just so _judgmenting _these days."  

Eriol visibly winced.

"It's _judgmental_, Nakuru.  Quit mixing your verbs and adjectives.  While we're at it, wherever did you pick up d_eranged idiosyncrasies_?"

Nakuru sniffed delicately before replying.  

"I keep hearing Suppi-chan mutter it when I'm around.   It sounded good, though, don't you think?  Suppi-chan always uses long lovely words.  I wonder where you could pick them up?"  Nakuru looked thoughtful as she pondered with the answer. 

[Authors' note:  Nakuru really isn't dumb – far from it!  She just likes having fun with Spinel and Eriol ;p ]

Eriol rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"You read books, Nakuru.  You know, papers bound together with letters on them?"

Nakuru snorted.  "Gah!  What for?  You and Suppi-chan do enough of it for all three of us."   Nakuru then glanced slyly at her master.

"Besides, I already know something you don't."  

"Rrright.  And that would be..."

Nakuru grinned smugly at her master as she crawled from the back to the passenger seat beside Eriol.  Before Eriol could react, she reached across him, opened his door and pushed him out of the car. 

 With her dumbfounded master blinking up at her, her eyes twinkled mischievously as she looked down on him at the ground and said,

"You're already late.  Girls _absolutely_ **hate** to be kept waiting."

And proceeded to slam the car door on Eriol's panicked face.

~o~o~o~o~

Eriol rushed to the door with the security pass Tomoyo gave him the other day.  His sensitive eyes were suddenly assaulted with the flash of brilliant stage lights above him.  Before he could get his bearings, an arm reached out and proceeded to guide him towards a table with a mirror on top of it.

"You must be the new guy."  An impatient voice said beside him.  "Well?  Hurry up, I don't have all day.  Jeez, what is it with models these days?  They always think they can arrive any time they want to.  We have a schedule here, you know!"

Eriol glanced at the mirror to see a man dressed in a black sweater and slacks.  A name pin identified him as Reynaldo.  By the manner the other people seemed to defer to him, he was obviously the guy in charge here.

"Uhm, excuse me.  I'm..ah..looking for Miss Tomoyo."  He addressed the guy.

"Really?"  An eyebrow raised.  "Well, a lot of people are.  Listen here, honey.  If you want to keep this job you'd better dress now.  Miss Daidouji values professionalism and she doesn't accept tardiness from anyone, her models included."  Reynaldo stressed as he reached for the hem of Eriol's shirt and started to pull it off.

"Hey, wait!..."   Eriol in shock, tried to forcibly regain his shirt that was in the other man's grasp.  He soon couldn't restrain himself when the darned man wouldn't let go.  

"_WHAT IN BLOODY HELL'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!?!_"  

Everyone caught up in the bustle of the changing area paused to watch the scene.  They say a half-naked guy glowering at their backstage boss who, despite his disadvantage in height, was not backing away from the exquisite piece of male flesh obviously incensed with him.  All the other models looked on amusingly as they caught each other's eyes and mouthed one word.  _Newbie_.

"I'm not going to take that crap from you, you airhead!  I'm in charge here!"  Reynaldo thundered.

Eriol suddenly tensed as he felt other people's gazes on them.  He hated making a scene.  He struggled with his composure as he sought to pacify the offended supervisor. 

"Look, this is a misunderstanding.  I'll explain later.  I just want to see Tomoyo right now."  He said soothingly.  

It didn't work.

"See here, mister.  The ONLY way you're going to meet Miss Daidouji  is if you get into your assigned clothes and do your job.  What's your job?!  Your job is to model, nothing more!  So go do it now or help me God, I'm gonna make sure you never step foot in _any_ runway again!  DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!!  Reynaldo's baritone voice strangled out.   

Eriol expelled a great sigh and nodded.

"Yes sir."

Instantly calmed, Reynaldo turned his back for a moment to call for an assistant.

Eriol could only shudder as a brief sense of foreboding washed over him.

_This is going to be a looong day._

~o~o~o~o~

In the meantime, Tomoyo was in one of the backstage dressing rooms, a bit apart from the models' rooms.

To her dismay when she arrived later that afternoon, Ted Whitaker was there, grinning at her.  She could only smile back weakly, then when his back was turned, she dragged Anne to a corner and hissed.

"Anne, why is Mr. Whitaker here?!?"

Anne shrugged.  

"He managed to get a security pass from Reynaldo – you know how soft he gets with charming guys..."

"I'm gonna fire his soft ass one of these days!"

"No, you won't.  Reynaldo's the best.  Anyway," Anne patiently pointed out, "Mr. Whitaker is one of our important buyers here in New York.  He's particular with the men's line, and it won't hurt to let him see how great your clothes are."

"He already saw most of them in the New Year's Eve show, Anne."  Tomoyo pointed out.

"Still, it won't hurt.  He knows a lot of people in the fashion business, so be nice.  Trust me."  Anne dragged her back to the center of the room.  "Henri is already starting with the models outside, but before you go out, GQ and Lifestyle are here for their scheduled interview, so knock their socks off!"

Tomoyo could only sigh as she gave a polite nod to Ted.  _This is going to be a long day._

She tried to look at the bright side.  Thank goodness Eriol will be here.  She could feel a blush coming on, so she ducked her head.  Which made her look at her watch.  

She gave a small frown.  He's late.

~o~o~o~o~

Fortunately for Eriol, he COULD wear anything and pull it off with style.  Reynaldo had calmed down somewhat and gave him a once-over.

"Good.  Very good,"  eyeing Eriol's silk-and-linen three-button sport coat and cotton-and-linen pants.  His hand lingered on Eriol's lapels.  "You're not my type, but I could just change my mind.  Now, stay put!"  Reynaldo walked away to lecture another model.

"Hmm, so you've met Reynaldo."  Nakuru's voice purred in his ear.

Eriol whirled to face Nakuru and demanded, "Nakuru, will you please tell the guy who I am?  I didn't come here to be screamed at and brutalized into modeling!"

Nakuru only grinned.

"C'mon, Eriol-sama!  Loosen up a bit and have fun!   Tomoyo-chan will be out in a bit to make sure the clothes come out right in the pictures, so why don't you surprise her?  Show her there's more than starch in this ol' fuddy duddy!" she said as she pointed a finger to his chest.

"_'Fuddy duddy'_?" Eriol shook his head.  "You're a walking anachronism, Nakuru," he began but she squealed and said,  _"Ooh, another nice long one!"_  

He raised his hands in surrender.  "Okay, okay, I'll play along," he replied grudgingly, then gave her a quick glance.  "By the way, you look smashing, Nakuru."

Giggling, she gave a small twirl.  "Don't I?!  It's the clothes – Tomoyo-chan really is talented!  Hey, there she is ---!"

Before he could look at her direction, Reynaldo nabbed him and pushed him towards the stage after a female model.

"You!  Go out there and show me what you got!"

~o~o~o~o~

Tomoyo loved making clothes.  It reminded her of the time she used to make Sakura's costumes.   She'd had to scale down her ribbons-and-flounces tendencies to come up with wearable but stylish clothes, but once in a while she'd let loose.  And for her first New York show, it worked so well that business was doing great.

Right now she was critically eyeing one model's outfit as Henri posed her at different angles on the stage.  The tiered white skirt was perfect on the girl, and she sighed happily.

Tomoyo had turned away when Reynaldo had signalled for the female model to move out, and thus didn't see the next model being pushed towards the stage.  She didn't even hear Reynaldo swear at the guy under his breath.

~o~o~o~o~

"What is this – amateur night?!?" Reynaldo hissed.  "POSE!"

Eriol sighed inwardly, then self-consciously posed in front of the camera, hoping Tomoyo didn't think he looked stupid.

Fortunately, he remembered Nakuru's techniques when she practiced it at home.  He put one hand on the prop chair, the other one in his pocket, then looked into the camera as if his thoughts were far away.  _Ah, pose of the Sorcerer in Deep Thought._

"Good, good.  Now sit," said the photographer, snapping away.

Eriol grabbed the edge of the chair with one hand, sat down and leaned forward on one leg and looked straight into the camera.   _Ah, pose of Clow Reed the Artiste!_

"Excellent!"  The photographer looked happy at the way his shoot was turning out.   "How about making the look more casual?"  Before Eriol could react, the photographer called out to Tomoyo.  "Miss Daidouji, is it all right if we loosen some buttons?"

Tomoyo turned around and squinted as she tried to look at the outfit against the bright lights.  She couldn't see the model's face, but she could see that on him, her clothes were perfect.

"I think the casual look will soften the formality – yes, Henri!" she answered back before turning to Anne, who was gaping at something behind her.

"Anne, what's the matter?"  Tomoyo frowned.  "Don't you agree with me?"

"Er, Tomoyo, you didn't tell me he was a model..."

"Who, Henri?!?"

"Ah, Mr. Hiiragizawa..."

Tomoyo whirled around and paid attention the guy on stage.  This time Henri had softened the lights so she could finally see Eriol.  And her heart did triple time.

Eriol had followed Henri's direction and straddled the chair.  _Well, it was now or never.  _Reynaldo had obligingly loosed three buttons of his cotton shirt and tousled his hair so that it fell to one side of Eriol's face.  Eriol had leaned forward on the back of the chair, laid his head on his crossed arms and was smiling.

At her.

And the ultimate pose – Eriol Hiiragizawa the charmer.

And the effect was absolutely felt by all the other women in the room.   Tomoyo was in the worst condition as that smile was fully directed at her.  

Her knees almost buckled with the impact of that smile, but she managed to recover to stomp over to where Hiiragizawa was.

"Eriol, you liar!  You said you were a history professor!"  She moved towards him and put her hands on her hips.

"I am."  Eriol replied with his lips still twitching.

Tomoyo, who knew she was fighting a losing battle the moment he smiled at her, nonetheless tried to maintain her stern demeanor.

"Then why are you in my photo-shoot, posing as my model?!"  She demanded.

Eriol shrugged and looked back at Reynaldo, who had tried to slink halfway through the door before Eriol brought everyone's attention to him.  Reynaldo was now giving Tomoyo an innocent, clueless look. 

Eriol's eyes glinted with mischief, wholly intending to clear himself of whatever blame Tomoyo put on him.

"_He_made me do it."    

Tomoyo glanced at Reynaldo who was looking at her sheepishly.  Tomoyo rolled her eyes to the ceiling and grumbled, "_why me?"_

~o~o~o~o~

As it happened, it turned out that Tomoyo had forgotten that she was supposed to meet with Touya for the evening so that they could go over the financials.    When Anne reminded her, Tomoyo immediately headed to where Eriol was waiting backstage.

She apologized profusely to Eriol, while they were surreptitiously watched by Ted.

"Oh, Eriol, I'm so sorry!  _Gomen nasai_, I really forgot! But Touya's strict with that appointment so I have to be there."  She raised amethyst eyes to his face.  "How can I make it up to you?   I should have asked Anne, but I was so excited and ..." She rushed on, breathless with her apology, while Eriol looked at her in fascination.

He _was_ a little disappointed.  And all the anxiety attacks early in the day!  

But he had fun watching Tomoyo work.  

Once he and Reynaldo had patched things up, Eriol gladly said goodbye to the limelight and was relegated to the sidelines to watch.  But instead of watching Nakuru preen for Henri, he watched Tomoyo.  

She really was dedicated, and everybody respected her work ethic.   It was obvious she loved her work because the clothes were fabulous.  She talked shop with Henri, soothed Reynaldo's ruffled feathers, chatted with Nakuru and the other models and had a nice word to say to everybody, even Ted.   She was patient and cool under pressure, and he admired that a lot.   

But when their eyes met, he could feel a jolt hit him, and he knew she felt it too.

As Eriol sat there he remembered that first kiss they shared at the balcony of the hotel.  He suddenly wanted to know if a second one would be better.

~o~o~o~o~

"It's all right, Tomoyo, really," he assured her, going back to the present.  "I HAD planned to visit the Museum tomorrow before I left for London -- would you like to go with me instead?"

"I'll check with Anne, but yes, if I'm free I'm definitely going.  And the hotdogs are on me!"  Both of them laughed and Eriol said, "It's a deal."  He took her hand, and Tomoyo shook his hand professionally.  But as she tried to pull back, he gently resisted.

Surprised, Tomoyo looked at his face.

They were behind the wall, apart from the others – still in plain view, but it was as if there was a shield around them, making the space they were occupying so private.

"Are you doing this?" she whispered.

"Maybe," Eriol whispered back.  _He really didn't know.  _He couldn't help but look intently at her face, and he could see a blush spreading on her cheeks.  She was so lovely.  How come he only noticed it now?

As if clearing his thoughts, Eriol shook his head, then breathed deeply.

"Tomoyo, I--I'm attracted to you."  There, he finally admitted it to himself.  And to her.   No matter if she said no, as long as he got it out of his chest.

A soft whisper reached his ears and brought him up short.

"I'm attracted to you too, E-Eriol..." 

_She's attracted to me too?!?  _Her candid response bowled him over, and he could barely restrain himself from kissing her there and then.  Cooler heads were needed at a time like this.  But he still kissed the hand that was in his grasp.

"We need to talk about this, what it means.  Tomorrow."

All she could do was nod.  They didn't have to say anything at all.  Just looked into each other's eyes and knew something had changed between them.

There was one thing he knew for certain, though.  

Kinomoto Touya was not going to be happy about this.

~o~o~o~o~

Touya was heading towards the restaurant when he felt a ZZING! In his head.  He still had some residual powers, and when he felt that familiar ZZING!, he groaned.

_"I am not going to be happy about this..." Shaking his head and cursing the fates, he went in to wait for Tomoyo._

~o~o~o~o~

Another person wasn't happy with what was happening in that little corner.  

Ted.

@@@@@

AUTHORS' NOTES:

Sofiana:  You can thank Sibyl for introducing the great Reynaldo into this chapter.  (For all I know she just wanted to get Eriol's shirt off.)

Sibyl:   You see right through me – but I don't see you complaining  ;p

So, what happens next?  We'll tell ya soon, but only if you leave reviews behind!  Hello again to KyteAura, not applicable, flitterbug, Intuition, Aqua Blue, and Misery Chick4. How's this for your E-T fix?  

At least Eriol's getting it on in time for Valentine's Day. 

Ja Ne!


	5. Rescue Me

First Kiss 

By SibylSofiana

Chapter 5 

Rescue Me

"So, he's taken, huh?"

The girls were sitting in a corner, Tomoyo drinking tea while Anne had an espresso, taking a break after the end of the shoot.  A lot of people were still hanging around, but Eriol and Nakuru-chan had already left.   Tomoyo didn't know whether she should feel relieved or gloomy at that fact when Anne posed the question.

As Anne was looking in Ted's general direction, Tomoyo thought Anne was referring to Ted and herself, and she said in mock-horror,  "Oh, goodness no!  You can have him!"

"Really?" Anne looked at her disbelievingly.

"TRULY.  Although," Tomoyo remarked, eyeing Anne, "I honestly don't know what you see in him, Anne-chan..."

"He's gorgeous, charming, intelligent and rich – what else can a girl ask for?"

"Are we talking about the same guy here – Ted "The Stalker" Whitaker?  He's about as charming as a leech,"  Tomoyo said dismissively, sipping daintily at her tea.

"Of course not, Tomoyo!...Well, as for the leech part –" Anne grinned hugely.

After sharing a quick laugh, Tomoyo shushed Anne, while looking suggestively at Ted's general whereabouts, and they both settled down.

 "Scratch that," Anne giggled, waving her hand in the air.  "No, I'm not talking about Ted, but  your friend, Eriol Hiiragizawa."  She said dreamily, "You think if I ask him out, he'll say yes?" 

Tomoyo froze.

Eriol?  **Her Eriol**?  _Wait a minute, when did he become **her** Eriol?_

As Tomoyo struggled to regain her composure, she heard a deep sigh beside her.

"Uh-oh, I guess that's a no," Anne sighed into her espresso cup.

~0~0~0~

_Earlier_

"Tomoyo, I--I'm attracted to you..."  

Tomoyo looked up at him, shocked.  She didn't think her innermost thoughts would come out to taunt her like this _– could Eriol read her mind_?  

Ever since yesterday, she couldn't seem to get him out of her head.  She'd been thinking of him a lot.  They hadn't seen each other for more than ten years – and they had only been reacquainted during these past two days.

Now here he was, verbalizing what she herself was feeling!

Tomoyo had never had a relationship before – and she certainly had never been kissed before!  But there was no denying that spark between the two of them.  She _was_ attracted to Eriol, and she wanted to get to know Eriol more.  

So, Tomoyo was forced to be honest with herself.

"I'm attracted to you too, E-Eriol..." 

Tomoyo felt Eriol's surge of emotion pass through the hand he held as he reacted to her statement.  As he finally bent to kiss her hand, she shivered.  She had seen him kiss Sakura-chan's hand a lot of times in the past – but when his lips touched her hand...this was somehow entirely different.

"We need to talk about this, what it means.  Tomorrow," Eriol said softly.

All she could do was nod as his eyes lingered on her lips before he turned and left.__

~0~0~0~

"Yes!  I mean, no, I mean _---aaaargh, I don't know what I mean_!"  Tomoyo replied in a panicky sounding voice, trying to pat down her heated face with her hands.

Despite her disappointment, Anne grinned.  Tomoyo was usually so calm and poised, that to see her become so flustered was quite amusing.   The look was quite becoming actually, and Anne couldn't help but feel just a twinge of envy – Tomoyo was very lovely, with her smooth, porcelain complexion, those speaking violet eyes, and that gorgeous head of ebony hair.

No wonder Ted Whitaker was smitten.  And Eriol Hiiragizawa, too, from the looks of it.  _Two's company, but three's a crowd._  Anne sighed.  Anyway, it was more than obvious that the only person Eriol could see was Tomoyo.

"That's a no," Anne gave a small smile.  "So you plan on going out with him?"

Instead of denying it, Tomoyo replied, "Um... yes."

"But doesn't he live in London?"

"There's that," Tomoyo admitted.  She hadn't really thought things through.  

"Honey, long distance relationships just don't work out.  I've been there."

"We-ell, it's not exactly a relationship yet..."  Did mutual attraction count as a relationship?

"But you'd like it to be," said Anne matter-of-factly.  She patted the other girl's shoulder.

"Well, you had better talk it over with him soon.  In the meantime," she said, looking at her watch, "you'd better head out to the restaurant – if I know Touya, he's already there."

"Oh my, yes!  I'd have to get a cab ---" Tomoyo stood up, still flustered with her runaway thoughts.

"-- I can take you myself, Tomoyo," smoothly interjected Ted, who was suddenly beside them."It's on my way."__

_How long had he been standing there?_

"Oh, no, thank you, Mr. Whitaker, I don't want to trouble you –"

"Ted, please.  And it's no trouble at all.  Besides, you're running late."

"Um, not really, Touya is just really punctual..." she began, but Ted couldn't be dissuaded, so she had to give in gracefully.   "Oh, alright.  _Arigatou_, everybody!"  Tomoyo called out, and answering replies came back.

After confirming that she was free tomorrow (with Anne giving her a sly glance_)_, Tomoyo said goodbye and walked out with Ted to his car. 

~0~0~0~

They didn't talk much – while Tomoyo was polite, she didn't want to encourage Ted's attentions, so she kept her eyes in front while Ted manouvered his car through the crowded streets.  However, as the crowded streets gave way to a clearer stretch of road, Tomoyo narrowed her eyes.  She distinctly remembered Touya telling her that the restaurant was just ten blocks away from the studio – in the other direction.  

She looked at Ted in alarm.

"Where are you taking me, Mr. Whitaker?"

Ted grinned, giving her a quick glance.  "Just somewhere we can have some pre-dinner drinks, so we can talk for a while."

"My cousin will be very worried about me, Mr. Whitaker."

"A little sidetrip won't hurt.  You'll just be a little late, that's all,"  he shrugged.

"This is kidnapping, you know," Tomoyo said lightly. 

"Now, now Tomoyo, no need to blow this out of proportion," Ted chuckled.  "I just want to get to know you better, but you're not giving me any opportunity at all, so I'm just winging this."  He reached over casually with his right hand and patted her knee, and Tomoyo shrank away at the contact.  

"What's the matter?  I'm just being friendly," Ted managed to sound hurt, but Tomoyo wasn't convinced.  Maybe he _was_ harmless, but she wasn't letting her guard down.

"I'm not that kind of girl, Mr. Whitaker," she answered coldly.  Staring straight into the windshield, she said, "I'd appreciate if you'd let me down here."  But where _here_ was, she didn't know.  They were now driving along a riverbank, and snowdrifts covered the side of the road.

"It isn't safe here, Tomoyo,"  Ted protested.

_It isn't safe here with you either.  I'll take my chances._

As if he heard her thoughts, he said, "Hey, I'm a nice guy!"

She was about to refute that when a truck suddenly appeared out of nowhere, backing up on their side of the road.  Ted was caught off-guard, and he hit down hard on the brake pedal.  But the road was slippery and they skidded on the ice.  

Ted then lost control over the wheel – to Tomoyo's horror, the car headed toward the railing by the river.  She screamed as the car hit the railing and flew in the air into the icy water.  

~0~0~0~

It had been a long time since she'd resumed her form as Ruby Moon.  There had been no need in the past few years and she enjoyed her new life as Hiiragizawa Nakuru, model.  

But when Eriol asked her to keep watch over Tomoyo, she did not protest.  The photo shoot was over anyway, and she needed to stretch her wings.  She transformed into her Guardian form, and kept herself hidden in the shadows above the rafters.

Ruby Moon's eyes narrowed as she watched Tomoyo move past Ted Whitaker towards the car.  _Eriol-sama will not like this._  As she couldn't do anything about it at the moment, she just followed them.

As she flew through the air, following the car, she felt suspicious.  She knew the restaurant where Tomoyo was meeting Touya – and Ted was heading in the wrong direction.

Suddenly, she spied a truck backing up in front of them.  Too late to warn them, she watched as the car spin-tailed and crashed into the river.

Ruby Moon went into action.  She flew down and tried to prevent the car from going down with her limited powers.  But the pressure from the water was too much for her wings, and the car was sinking further.

_ERIOL-SAMA!_

~0~0~0~

_Honestly! _ Eriol marked a paper in disgust as he adjusted his glasses.  This latest batch of students was clearly in need of a rude awakening.  After pencilling in his comments, he moved on to the next paper.  Thankfully, this particular one showed promise.  He took a quick look at the name.  _Ah, one of his more discerning students.  _A little polishing here and a quick comment here –

**_Ruby Moon?_**

Eriol started, then dumping the papers onto the nearest table, he quickly reached out with his aura.  As soon as he pinpointed Ruby Moon's location, he instantly winked out of the room to appear near the river.

He took one look at the situation and immediately took action.  He quickly scanned the surrounding area for something he could use.  But all he could see was snow and water.  No help for it -- Eriol brought out his staff and flung a spell onto the water.

The water took form and pushed the car up to the surface, then thrust the car safely back onto the road.   The car landed none-too-gently, water gushing out of it and streaming past Eriol's feet.   The spellcasting had cost Eriol some effort, and his sweat was cold in the night air as he lowered his hands.  

Disposing of his staff, he quickly unlocked the doors with a mental wave, and yanked the passenger door open.  He quickly set aside the airbag, undid Tomoyo's seatbelt and pulled her into his arms.  She was unconscious as he lifted her out, her wet hair trailing over his cheek.

As he stepped away from the car, he said to Ruby Moon over his shoulder –

"Take care of him!" 

-- before he disappeared with Tomoyo in his arms.

Burgundy eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in anticipation.

"Gladly."  

Ruby Moon's smile was sinister.

~0~0~0~

Eriol winked back into his suite, staggering under Tomoyo's deadweight.  _I haven't done that much magic in a long time, and I'm exhausted.  _But he set that aside, knowing he had to see to Tomoyo.  After a quick check, he was relieved to see that she didn't suffer any serious injury.

What she needed was a hot bath.  Eriol went straight towards Nakuru's bathroom and turned on the taps.  As steam came out of the tub, he paid attention to Tomoyo's clothes.

_No time for propriety here._  He brushed back Tomoyo's hair from her face and quickly pulled off her gloves and her scarf, then gave attention to her sodden wool coat.  He then pulled off her boots, then gulped as he pulled down her stockings.

He turned her around to unzip her dress, and pulled it down to her legs to join the rest of her clothes.  It was that moment when Tomoyo opened her eyes, and looked at him unseeingly.

Her stockings were still around his shoulders.  _Oh my God, she'll think I'm a pervert!_  Eriol thought as he looked back at her.  Visions of Nakuru pointing at him and saying "_Hentai, hentai_!" danced in his head but he shook them off.

"E-Eriol?"  She was trying to focus on his face.  He could tell she was in shock as her pupils were dilated.  

"It's okay, you're safe, Tomoyo," he replied soothingly.

"Mr. W-Whitaker –"  

"He's been taken care of, I left him with Ruby Moon."  Which did not necessarily mean he was safe.  _If Whitaker had something to do with this, he would personally see to it that Ted Whitaker be buried alive._

Eriol returned to the moment at hand. "Tomoyo, sweetheart, we need to get you warm, you have to get into the tub."

Tomoyo apparently could still comprehend this and she stood up shakily with his help.  Eriol thought it was the better part of valor to let her keep her underwear on.  He guided her to the tub, and she woozily sat down and lay back against it.  She immediately stopped shivering. 

"I'll have to leave you for a moment, Tomoyo.  I'll see about some dry clothes."

Eriol headed quickly out of the bath.  He was becoming increasingly lightheaded with proximity to an undressed _and wet _Tomoyo.

_Get a grip, man!_

~0~0~0~

Eriol looked at Nakuru's bed disgustingly.  It was piled with tons and tons of clothes and a lot of other things besides.   There was no help for it – Tomoyo would have to sleep on his bed and he'd take the couch in his room.

And she would probably have to wear one of his shirts.  He found one of Nakuru's nightgowns and cursed.  Nakuru had packed a see-through one with strings and nothing else.  He was already strung-up with this day's events that he didn't need another shot to his already high libido.  A nosebleed at this time would probably kill him.

After a few minutes, he headed back to the bathroom and knocked on the door.  He only came in partway and held up a long-sleeved shirt he had retrieved from his room.

"Once you're through, you can put this on.  I'll hang it here at the back of the door."

"_Arigatou_, Eriol."  She was looking at him with those liquid lavender eyes and he backed out of the bathroom quickly.

"You're welcome.  Don't stay in there too long, I'll just be in the other room."

Unsteadily, he went back to his room to towel himself off and straighten out a few things.  After stripping down to his boxers, he went straight to his own bathroom to splash water on his face.  He was surprised to find out that his hands were trembling.  

After some time, he grabbed a shirt from the closet and considered the sleeping arrangements.  The couch would be slightly uncomfortable but he could live with it.  He grabbed a pillow and an extra sheet and threw it on the couch.

"Eriol..."

Eriol turned around then gulped.  Tomoyo had just come out of the bath and she looked particularly fetching with her gorgeous wet hair on her shoulders, and her long legs coming from under his shirt.... _oh, bloody hell, don't think about what she's not wearing underneath!_

He shook himself free of the fantasies warping his brain and concentrated on the matter at hand.

"You can rest here in the meantime – Nakuru's bed is a disaster area."  He took out the brandy on the complimentary bar and poured some into a glass.  

"Here, drink this."  He gingerly moved closer to Tomoyo and handed the glass to her.  Tomoyo obediently took a sip and promptly coughed.  Eriol patted her back.

"It'll help you get warm."

"Are you trying to get me drunk, Eriol-kun?"  A trace of the old humor lit her face, and he gave a small grin.

"I wish.  Now, get into bed."

"That's an invitation if I ever heard one,"  she replied, her voice husky.

Eriol looked at her uncertainly.  Did she hit her head during the accident?  She was certainly behaving strangely – maybe he should call a doctor?

"Oh, stop it Hiiragizawa – it was a joke!" Tomoyo said grumpily as she handed him the glass and climbed onto his bed.  Where she instantly fell asleep.

~0~0~0~

As he silently stood by the bed drinking in her sleeping form, Eriol couldn't quite help wishing it wasn't.

~0~0~0~

Authors' notes:

Really sorry about the late update – a lot of things on our mind lately ;p  Glad you guys liked Reynaldo.  Let's see if Eriol gets to bump into him soon, hehehe!   As for Ted Whitaker, well let's just say he's in a lot of trouble...

Scenes from when we were writing this...

One 

Sofiana:  _muses as she writes_ Hmm...is Eriol a "boxer-shorts kinda guy" or a "jammies kinda guy"?

Sibyl:      _passing by, looking over Sofiana's shoulder_ How 'bout a bare-all kinda guy?

Sofiana:   _visions of half-naked Eriol supplanted by Sibyl's latest comment _Sibyl, you shock me!  Hentai, hentai!

Two 

Sofiana:  Hey, how about Eriol rummaging through Nakuru's wardrobe for a nightgown for Tomoyo to wear?

Sibyl:      _a finger on her lip while staring at the ceiling_ How 'bout Tomoyo wearing Eriol's shirt instead?

Sofiana:   Sibyl, you're starting to scare me...


	6. A Compromising Situation

First Kiss 

By SibylSofiana

**Chapter Six**

A Compromising Situation

Eriol tried to concentrate on the rest of his papers, but the husky voice in his head kept distracting him. kept ringing in his head:

"Are you trying to get me drunk, Eriol-kun?"  

He never took advantage of people by using alcohol.  Well, okay, sugar then, in Spinel's case.   Other than that small detail, he was a nice guy, right?  He didn't think Tomoyo believed otherwise, so he took her question as a joke.

"I wish.  Now, get into bed."

Her teasing rejoinder nearly blew him away --

_"That's an invitation if I ever heard one._"

Oh, gods – the ultimate temptation.  He was so stunned by it that he was speechless, and then Tomoyo had huffily declared it was just a joke before she went straight to sleep.  _Oh, but the thought of holding her close to him... _

Eriol finally gave up and put his pen down.  There was still time enough tomorrow to finish grading the papers if Tomoyo wasn't up for their plans. 

He stood up, yawned, and made his way to the sofa beside the bed.  As he came near the sleeping girl, he was alerted by the restless movements Tomoyo made on the bed.

Tomoyo suddenly bolted upright, screaming, but he quickly crossed over the bed and immediately reached for her shoulders.

"Tomoyo, shhh....it's alright, you're safe," he spoke soothingly, and he could feel her relax as she recognized his voice.  __

"E-Eriol?"  Tomoyo shuddered, waking up from her nightmare.  

He held her close for some time, telling her in a reassuring voice that she was safe.  When he could feel her body stop shivering, he asked, "Are you alright now?"  When she nodded, Eriol guided her back onto the pillows. 

"Go on, rest.  I'll take you back to your rooms tomorrow."  He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.  But as he made to move away, she touched his shoulder lightly, uncertainly.

"Eriol...please stay," she said in a small voice.

Eh!?! 

After only a moment's hesitation, where a quick jump of anticipation was promptly smothered, Eriol replied.  "Of course, sweetheart.  I'll be right here.  Now sleep..." 

He could hear her sigh softly as she snuggled closer to his side of the bed.  Stealing a glimpse at her, he saw that she had immediately fallen asleep once again.

_She was so beautiful.  His dark-haired angel, safe in his arms._

Eriol yawned again.  The day was catching up with him, and his eyelids felt heavy.

I'll stay here just a little bit longer till Nakuru comes back.  

_Just for a little while..._

000

The moment Tomoyo opened her eyes, the memory of what she had said came back to her, and she almost groaned.  She had never been so brazen in her entire life!

She almost did groan because of the terrible soreness she felt all over her body.  She probably had some cuts and bruises under the shirt she was wearing, but thank goodness nothing worse had happened.  Thank goodness Eriol had been there...

She could feel the blush on her cheeks as she finally remembered where she was.   Eriol's arm was around her, and she was lying against him.  She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his warm breath tickling her nape. 

Eriol smelled clean and crisp, with a faint hint of something old-fashioned.   Whatever it was, she liked it.  She could also smell his scent on the shirt she wore, and it was nice, sleeping with him.

_Oh, God, that's sounds so illicit._

It was a nice feeling, period.  She sighed.  _Hmm, I could get to like this very much._  Last night's events seemed so far away, but it was only an hour after dawn, if the watch on the nightstand was anything to go by.

She was wrapped up in listening to Eriol's heartbeat that she failed to register the commotion outside the room until someone barged in and nearly tore the door off its hinges.

**"H-I-I-R-A-G-I-Z-A-W-AAAAA!!!"  **

Tomoyo was startled, and she instinctively drew herself closer to Eriol as someone she thought she recognized barged into the room. 

And then Nakuru herself gamely followed the slightly crazed man into the room, finally pointing  toward the bed where Tomoyo lay wide-eyed.

"See, she's alright, Touya-kun!"

000

Touya was pacing frantically in Tomoyo's hotel room with a worried Anne by his side.   He was dialling Tomoyo's cellphone for the thousandth time when Nakuru showed up with a smug look on her face.

"Akizuki!"  He bounded over to her.  "Where is she?!?"

_Oops_.  She had spent too much time with Ted and had completely forgotten about Touya.   It was already dawn, and the weariness was showing on Touya's face and Anne's.  Nakuru waved her hand in front of his face in apology.

"Neh, neh, Touya-kun – she's alright!  She just had this slight accident..."

"With that creep Whitaker?!?  I'll kill him!!!" 

Anne was attempting to pacify him.  "Touya, I'm sure there's an explanation for this..."

"Calm down, Touya-kun.  I already took care of him, and believe me, she's alright."  Nakuru patted his shoulder.  His neck looked a bit stiff, but judging from the look on his face, a neck massage would not be welcome at that point.  She pouted at that.

Touya counted to ten and tried to breathe.   He finally calmed down somewhat, to Anne's relief, who set about to get him something to drink.

"So, where is she?"  He was already running the list of the nearest hospitals in his mind.

Nakuru said blithely, "Oh, Eriol just brought her to his room."

Silence.  Then ---

**"WHAT?!?!!!"**

000

"Touya!"  Tomoyo had forgotten all about him.

"Are you hurt?  Are you ok?"  Then, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HIS BED?" and "WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!?!"  This from an obviously frazzled Touya.

"Touya-kun, calm down!  I'm alright....shhh, I'm alright,"  she tried to calm down her very distraught cousin.  If things weren't so serious, she'd be laughing just about now – but her ribs hurt, so better not. 

She carefully moved away from Eriol and gingerly made her way to the edge of the bed where her cousin was smoldering before he sat down at her urging. 

"I'm okay, Touya-kun," she assured him again.  "My clothes were all wet, so Eriol gave me a shirt to wear.  And Nakuru's bed was a little, um, full of stuff," she gave a quick smile to Nakuru, "so Eriol offered me his bed.  I guess he fell asleep watching over me."

Touya wanted to pursue that line of thought, but seeing as Tomoyo was matter-of-fact about it, she couldn't possibly be hiding something.   He narrowed his eyes and asked her, "What exactly happened last night, Tomoyo?"

"Well, Eriol brought me here – I'm not exactly sure what happened.  All I remember was that Mr. Whitaker was driving and...oh, my God!"  Tomoyo suddenly stood up as she remembered all the events that had occured in the past few hours.  "What happened to Mr. Whitaker?"

It was Touya's turn to calm her down as he pulled her back to sit on the bed.  "He's alright," he said.  "Akizuki took care of him.  Didn't you, Akizuki?"  glaring at the Moon Guardian, as if everything was her fault.

Nakuru only sniffed. 

"Were you following them?  What happened?"  Touya demanded.

Nakuru wanted to recover her bruised dignity – really!  She had been only doing her job!  But a quick glare from the Card Mistress' brother told her that he was in no mood to be nice.  So sighing, she gave them a quick rundown of the night's events.

000

All this time nobody had been paying attention to the other person on the bed. 

Eriol had awakened at around the same time Tomoyo did, but he just lay there savoring her closeness.  And she smelled so good.  When someone burst into the room, he instinctively tightened his grip on her shoulders.  As soon as he realized that it was only Kinomoto-san, he kept his eyes shut and pretended to be still asleep.  He listened as Nakuru told Kinomoto and Tomoyo what had happened last night, and he clenched his fists at the mention of Whitaker's name.  He'd get all the details from Nakuru later, and he decided, he'd finish what Nakuru started with Ted Whitaker. 

"Oh, come on Touya, don't be so paranoid.  This is the 21st century – he just slept beside me, what's the big deal?"  Tomoyo was soon exasperatedly explaining to her cousin how she ended up on Eriol's bed.  Eriol could barely hold back a chuckle.

When things had quieted down after a while, Eriol decided it was safe to open his eyes, and so he opened them carefully.

Kinomoto Touya was glaring at him hard-eyed.

"Wondered how you could sleep with all this ruckus," he said sarcastically.

Eriol only gave a small smile before stretching his arms up and giving a yawn. 

"Well, I _was_ tired, Kinomoto-san."  He picked up his glasses by the nightstand.  "Haven't been doing magic for some time – and translocating is always hard work."  He stood up and directed a quick look at Tomoyo, who stood at Touya's side with his arm protectively around her.  "_Daijobou, Tomoyo_?"  Touya didn't miss the first name basis, and glared at him, but he had eyes only for Tomoyo.

"I'm feeling better, Eriol-kun.  _Arigatou."_  A tinge of pink was on her cheeks.  "I suppose I better get dressed and get back to my rooms.  Anne will be worried."  She left the room with Nakuru in tow.  Nakuru  probably would have wanted to stay and watch the two males fight it out, but Tomoyo had taken her firmly by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

As the two girls left the room, Touya looked at the younger man appraisingly.

"Is there anything I should know about, Hiiragizawa-kun?" he grated out.

Eriol pretended to think deeply, then shrugged his shoulders.  "I think Nakuru just about covered everything."  He pretended to misunderstand what Touya was really asking, and he grinned as he watched the slightly older man turn a shade of purple. 

He soon relented.  "Relax, Kinomoto-san.   I am hardly the type to take advantage of helpless females."  Touya was in the mood to disagree, but he kept quiet.  "I just gave her a hot bath – alone," he added as a nerve twitched in Kinomoto's face, "— and offered her the bed.  And no, nothing happened."

As Touya's face was about to settle in relief, Eriol added mischievously, "A kiss of gratitude would have been nice, though."

Kinomoto was about to splutter in indignation when Tomoyo timidly popped her head into the room, dressed in some of Nakuru's clothes.

_Did she hear that last statement?_  Her face was red with embarrassment.

"Um, Eriol-kun – we're still on for the museum later , right?  Oh, _stop it_, Touya – I'm perfectly fine."  She turned to address her cousin.  "We can talk shop once we get back to my rooms, but I'd like to take some time off for sightseeing before we leave New York.  Eriol-kun?"  She looked at him expectantly, waving aside Touya's mutterings.

"Let's forget the museum,"  Eriol said regretfully.   "Touya's right – we should have a doctor check you out."  He raised a hand when she was about to object.  "Then, if you're up to it, we can just hang around here instead -- " a quick glare from Touya – "or not..."

"_Tou-ya_..." Tomoyo's voice was exasperated.   "Well, how about hanging around in my rooms then?  Anne will be chaperone – _alright, Touya-kun, you can drop the glare now_ – and we could just talk.  Nakuru can come along, too," she added as Nakuru came into the room.

Eriol smiled.  "Okay.  I can probably bring along my papers to check during a dull moment."   He grinned impudently at Touya.  "Tame enough for you, old man?"

Touya harrumphed, then pushed his cousin out the room.  "Come on, Anne needs to know you're alright."  A discreet cough from behind stopped them halfway across the room.

"What is it now?"  he glared over his shoulder at the Weasel guy.

Eriol pointedly looked at his bedroom door.  "What about that, Kinomoto-san?"  The door was hanging crazily on its hinges, and splinters of wood were scattered on the carpet.

Touya only shrugged.  "You did say you were out of practice doing magic, Hiiragizawa – you can practice on the door. " He then waved nonchalantly as he led his now-properly-dressed cousin out the door.  Tomoyo also waved back before being herded out.

Eriol briefly considered turning Kinomoto-san into a toad, but decided it was too much effort.  He glanced at Nakuru who was standing by quietly.

"Foiled again," Nakuru grinned cheekily before heading to her room. 

**Authors' Notes**:  Sorry this update took so long.  Sibyl was wondering where all this is headed ;p


End file.
